Pootie Tang

Pootie Tang (2001)

Directed by Louis C.K.

Starring: Lance Crouther, Chris Rock, Wanda Sykes

Pooite Tang (Crouther) is a ghetto legend, a mythical figure in the world of music, acting, and fighting injustice. From his childhood he’s been aided by a mystical belt inherited from his father. Now the evil leaders of Corporate America have taken his belt in an effort to get Pootie to endorse all of their addictive products to the children of America.

Perhaps this quote can put together my feelings about this movie. “Is he Pootie, or is he tang? Is he Tangy, or Tang-a-lang-a-ding-dong?” Nothing is clear in this ridiculous 2001 film directed by Louis C.K. (Louie). He brought Chris Rock (Madagascar), Lance Crouther (The Chris Rock Show), Wanda Sykes (Over the Hedge), and a handful of other recognized faces and made this insane movie.

This is not a good movie. Still, I think a lot of people will enjoy the cheap laughs and strange moments that make this movie feel similar to Half Baked. The story is loose and made for this kind of film. It’s full of strange gags and an over-the-top villain that doesn’t make much sense. It’s fun to see, but if you don’t like stupid comedies you might want to move on.

I did like some aspects of the movie. The action sequences are totally cheesy, but somehow entertaining. Perhaps one of the strangest and funnier things is the dialect spoken by the title character. For most of the film it’s impossible to understand what he’s saying, but somehow the message gets across. It doesn’t come close to saving this one from the ranks of other badly made early 2000’s films, but it’s something.

This isn’t one that I can really recommend. Still, if you stumble across it you might have fun with it. I give this one 1.2 out of 5 stars.